2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.

Jeremiah found himself isolated

Much contention may stir up such feeling as to defeat its own purpose. But a silent, consistent, public course of action is a continual reminder that may eventually provoke sober thought, and accomplish good. God often used the personal lives of the prophets in this way - living examples and object lessons.

Like Jeremiah, God's people today are required to manifest a striking difference in their lives from the surrounding world, so that they will be unmistakable beacon-lights of Truth.

Jeremiah was forbidden by God to marry. To the natural mind it may seem hard and unfair to impose this restriction on a faithful man through no fault of his own, but wisdom will realize that all pleasures and comforts are from God and He will surely see that none of His obedient servants will ever lose out because of their obedience.

There was no fatted calf in Jeremiah's life to make merry with his friends, but he was among that few who live close to God and of whom it is transcendently true that 

"Thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." 

There was a deeper and more satisfying bond between Jeremiah and God than could ever be conceived of in the natural relationships of human beings.

Bro Growcott - BYT 4.17.

19 O Yahweh, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

This sorcery will be despised

"Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit" Jer. 16:19.

A clerical prophet then will be regarded, as he is in fact, the enemy of God and man; for certainly he is an enemy of both, who by his false teaching

"blasphemes God in blaspheming his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven" (Rev. 13:6);

and misdirect the ignorant in spiritual affairs.

Such a prophet may profess to love God, and my "precious immortal soul," as they term it; but this is all mere practical hypocrisy, if his teaching make God a liar, make his word of no effect, and instead of showing me "the way of salvation", lead me into the condemnation of unbelief and disobedience.

Such a prophet is the worst enemy God and man can have. No long prayers, holy tone, and pious grimace can compensate for this. They only aggravate the injury; and destroy a man, as Joab slew Amasa, asking of his health—2 Sam. 20:9, 10.

Such prophets are the ecclesiastical element of the beast's concubine. They are the worst enemies of the people, deceiving them, and being themselves deceived. We do not deny that many of them sincerely believe that they teach "the truth as it is in Jesus", and that they do God service in the work they perform. 

We do not deny this, but heartily believe it of many. Nevertheless, what they think does not make it so. If a man is wrong in all points, and he yet think he is right in all, his thoughts do not alter the fact.

Saul had a zeal of God, earnestly devoted himself to the establishment of his own righteousness, and thought he did God service in persecuting the faith he afterwards embraced. But all this time he was persecuting Jesus. But, he did it ignorantly in unbelief, as do many of the people's divines. The great bulk of these, however, are mere professionals; ignorant enough, and indifferently honest; who really care no more for God nor man than what they can make by their soul-trading speculation.

Well, we rejoice to know, that the spiritual orders are all to be abolished, with their sects, names, and denominations of pious fraud and imposition. Mankind will cease to be brutes debased by superstition. They will come to know Yahweh, like Israel, from the least unto the greatest; and if any prophet then, shall yet prophecy, even his father that begot him and the mother that bore him, shall slay him, saying,

"Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of Yahweh"—Zech. 13:3, 4.

If such discipline were carried out now, not a clergyman would be left alive; for they all speak lies in the Lord's name, as every one knows who understands and believes the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.

Herald of the Kingdom and Age to Come, Sept 1859